‘False Profit:' Finally, a Comedy Movie About the Economic Crisis!

There comes a point in every breakup, every tragedy you go through in life, where you say, “I just can’t cry anymore.”

Source: kickstarter.com

False Profit, Dan Abrams & Josh Zepps

Well, filmmaker Dan Abrams, Science Channel host Josh Zepps and Second City ETC founder Jeff Michalski have decided it’s time to stop crying about the economic crisis and recession— and start laughing.

They’re working on a mockumentary (think “Spinal Tap”) about the economic crisis called “False Profit.”

But wait, don’t answer yet. You also get — an investment opportunity!

Between them, they’ve worked with some of the most famous names in comedy, from Stephen Colbert to Robin Williams, but they’ve decided that YOU are the one to fund this project.

They’ve launched a campaign on Kickstarter.comto raise money for the film. If they get $50,000, they’re totally doing it. (If they don’t, they’ll probably blow the money on cheeseburgers and hair products.)

The Kickstarter page includes a trailer for the movie that includes narration in a voice that sounds like Dana Carvey doing George Bush (so read this in that voice):

2.8 trillion dollars …gone.

Lehman and Bear Stearns … wiped out.

Entire neighborhoods … foreclosed.

Europe … breaking apart.

And as the world crumbles, everyone is asking one question: “Who’s to blame?”

The answer, as it turns out, is Eugene Kramer, a simple Iowa farmer who brought his folksy wisdom to Wall Street at an entry-level trading job in 2004.

From the credit crash to the auto bailout, from the euro crisis to Occupy Wall Street, Eugene Kramer caused it all — and now it’s up to him to fix it.

If you pledge $10 or more, you get a special digital download before the official DVD is released. At the $25 level, you get a special edition DVD/Blu-ray before the DVD release AND the digital download. For $50, you get all that AND the chance to attend a special online premier (are sequins still appropriate for that? what's the protocol for an online premier?!), plus access to several live streaming workshops on comedy with Michalski.

They don't want to be around you until you reach the $100 level, where you get all that AND two tickets to a live screening. And for $250, you get four tickets, blah blah blah, AND an invite to the after-party. (Now we're talking.) You go $500, you also get an "associate producer" credit and at $2,000 or more, you get an "executive producer" credit.

We’ve all been burned by some bad investment choices during the past few years, so it’s understandable if some investors are a little skittish. I mean, how can we know for sure they’re not the Bernie Madoffs of comedy and this is nothing more than a Ponzi film that you could have an executive producer credit on that could actually land you interviews with the FBI, SEC and Justice Department?!

They assuage any concerns on their Kickstarter page, describing the project as a “gleefully absurdist farce,” in the vein of “Arrested Development” and “Best in Show.”

Well, when you put it that way, it sounds better than any of the investments we’ve made in the past few years. Jimmy, hand me my wallet!

And, scene.

Disclaimer: Due to SEC regulations concerning qualified investments, Kickstarter and the aforementioned filmmakers are unable to sell equity or profit points on this project. So, you will have to be happy with the DVD, producer credit, etc., depending on the investment package you choose.

Disclaimer, part deux: Both of Abrams's parents are corporate lawyers.